I guess that when you're so far to the Right, EVERYBODY becomes a lefty and the degree to which they differ on any point becomes a measure of their degree of extremism.

Who is actually regarded as moderate these days?

“As a fully paid-up member of the Greens I can say that I am very disappointed by the leadership's refusal to respond to this opinion piece”

I take it Michael that you have appealed directly to them and have been told that no response will be rendered?

Perhaps you could re-appeal and make the point that there are a lot of respondents who essentially agree with the author, which could be responded to if they feel that Dr Ridd has hurt their feelings and that they’d rather sulk…or just let concerned people believe the criticisms levelled against them at face value (coz it’s the truth afterall i’n it)… than defend themselves.

“Maybe it is time to establish an ‘Environment Party’?”

Most definitely.

We need Clive Hamilton or Tim Flannery to head a new party, or find a person or an agenda that they are willing to very publicly endorse.

I have tried to convince opposition parties to embrace the necessary new paradigm based on sustainability. I’ve had a fair whack at appealing to Beazley, Rudd in opposition and the Qld Nationals, on this forum.

I think that this new political paradigm could easily be embraced by the old dinosaur parties when they are desperate for power….. if they could just see the enormous potential in it for them to appeal to the constituency. Quite frankly, the Federal Libs and indeed just about all of the state opposition parties would have a better chance of winning power at the next election or the one after, if they embraced this political direction, and strongly promoted it, rather than upholding the practically identical same old same old as the incumbents.

The Greens and Dems could do it too. But they would have to convince us no less so than the others that their conversion was genuine. Afterall, their agendas in practise have barely been better than those of the liblabs.

But I guess it would be better if the new party emerged independently.

.
“Ludwig, interested in your response. I would appreciate your greater elaboration.”

OK Col. Tomorrow (:>)

"Ho Hum, its pretty easy to define a Right-Wing extremist.

They are the ones who want to force everyone to do as they say, by law.

The last thing they are interested in is convincing, with logical argument, others to join their cause. They are even less interested in developing policies which would draw more people to their cause.

How could they? They believe they are the font of all wisdom, like most other would be dictators."
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Thank-you Hasbeen,- preview and spell check has allowed me to correct your errors.

Other than that; nicely put.

The Greens do have their faults, and it is to be hoped they rectify them.

Though its hard to take the criticism of a rightwing organisation, even when in parts its constructive!

Hasbeen. Did you have a private school ecducation?

I have the solution.We get the Greens to become Muslims so they can create a whole new perverted logic.Instead of Allah we could have Green God,or the great GG.Do we have any bets on who would win the race for stupidity?

Healthwatcher “The Greens suffer the same problem that every ideology does. They seek black and white solutions in a complex world of many hidden variables, This is the reason that Labor or Colaition will always be in power as they deal with complexity in the only way possible - with rhetoric, gestures and just plain empty waffle.”

On that basis I would repeat what I have been suggesting for some time, smaller government, lower taxes and less interference in the sovereign decisions of individuals.

partTimeParent “They have been taken over by the irrational zealots of many 'social causes'”
more examples of the entryism which I suggested.

The passion and anger of your post is not missed and I would suspect well founded.

Divergence “international social justice concerns” is a euphemism for “manically obsessive anti-capitalism”, regardless of the superior social benefits and national fabric we all enjoy under a libertarian-capitalist system.

It is the sentimental choice of the envious and under-skilled, to believe they are being held back by an unfair system, when they are really being held back by their own inadequacies.

Ho Hum “Any culture that uses the bottom-line as its sole (soul-less) measure of value will go down the tube in very quick time.”

You really should get up to date with modern business systems and measurement.
Whilst some businesses look solely at the profit line, the successful ones consider long term business security and growth, the ethical discharge of all its responsibilities, including social, environmental, legal etc. as equally important in the long term security of its monetary, intellectual and skills investments.

And I thought our “culture” was about respecting people to make their own decisions.

Grn “They were courted by the socialist left and saw greater electoral popularity by that route, even though adopting socialist policies directly contradicted many of their green ones.”

Proving that if you lay down with dogs, you get fleas.

Arjay, check the history books, Gadaffi beat you, by a couple of decades.